Eduardo Doreira
Eduardo Doreira (1954-) was President of Brazil from 2001 to 2004 (succeeding Joao Iacovo and preceding Raquel Santos) and from 2009 to 2013 (succeeding Brenda Moreira and preceding Diego Sobral). Originally elected President as PSDB leader in 2001, he switched to the Brazilian Labor Party in 2006 and was once again elected President in 2009 as PTB leader. Doreira's first presidency was marked by deteriorating public trust in the establishment PSDB party, which allied with the right wing of politics to cut taxes and support fiscal conservatism. During his second presidency, Doreira presided over a quasi-authoritarian regime which made use of political violence and black money to remove the regime's obstacles, and he continued to adhere to fiscal conservatism, raising taxes and cutting spending in order to transform the depressed economy into a booming one. However, the Brazilian public was soon weary of the PTB, which - despite its authoritarian tendencies - was never successful in dismantling the Brazilian democracy. During Doreira's last terms, the PTB hold over the Chamber of Deputies was destroyed as parties on both the right and left recovered from the populist shockwave which had first delivered the PTB to power in 2004. Doreira and his party soon lost control of the country's economic policies, and they were dealt a resounding defeat in the 2013 elections. Doreira, fearing the worst, stepped down as party leader before the elections and allowed for Raquel Agusto to become the next party leader, but this attempt to rebrand the party failed, and the PTB returned to the opposition as a centrist party. Doreira's presidency marked the high tide of the Brazilian economy, but also one of the lowest points in Brazilian democracy since the military junta of the 1980s. Biography Eduardo Doreira was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1954, and he was active in the opposition to the military regime of the 1970s and 1980s while working as a lawyer. In 2000, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a PSDB member, and, in 2001, he was elected President with 50.4% of the vote, defeating PMDB incumbent Joao Iacovo with 49.6% of the vote. Presidency Eduardo Doreira took office in February 2001, and his government backed a failed presidential limit bill, which failed 18-15. However, the government backed a 14-8 vote to approve a stamp duty and a 25-6 vote to approve a housing tax. The PTB proposed a public housing bill which passed 22-9 and a retirement homes bill which passed 27-5. A land tax bill then failed 22-11 due to opposition from the PMDB and Progressistas. In the late 2001 general election, the PMDB dropped to 30.76% and 12 seats, the PSDB rose to 23.91% and 9 seats, the PT rose to 16.43% and 7 seats, the Progressistas dropped to 11.7% and 5 seats, and the PTB rose to 17.19% and 7 seats. Doreira then won re-election in a vote of 53.9% to Iacovo's 46.1%, serving a second term. The Chamber voted down attempts at reducing the constitutional amendment threshold and implementing presidential term limits, while it voted 23-6 to approve a bus transport service and 30-3 to fund a road maintenance program. In week 12 of 2002, the Chamber voted 19-15 to abolish the stamp duty, with the PMDB and PSDB voting in favor of abolition. The Chamber then voted 34-0 to approve free primary education, and the next elections were held a week later. The PMDB dropped to 27.74% and 11 seats, the PSDB dropped to 23.38% and 9 seats, the PTB rose to 19.64% and 8 seats, the PT rose to 17.68% and 7 seats, and the Progressistas dropped to 11.56% and 5 seats. Despite the PSDB's slight decline due to PTB attack ads, Doreira won election with 53% of the vote to Iacovo's 47%. The new Chamber then voted 36-0 to approve public libraries. In week 19 of 2003, the PMDB dropped to 26.49% and 11 seats, the PSDB rose to 23.54% and 9 seats, the PTB dropped to 18.65% and 8 seats, the PT rose to 18.16% and 7 seats, and the Progressistas rose to 13.16% and 5 seats. Doreira then won another term in office with 52% of the vote to Iacovo's 48%. The Chamber voted 28-2 to approve a public smoking ban, 31-2 to approve an ambulance service, 28-8 to approve universal healthcare, 31-1 to approve a school bus tax, The PSDB, PMDB, and Progressistas voted 16-15 to abolish the income tax in a narrow vote which led to the economy plunging downwards. The Chamber voted 21-8 to approve a child benefit program, and it narrowly voted 18-15 to approve a land tax due to popular demand. The Chamber then voted 19-11 to approve a stamp duty. In early 2004, the next general election saw the PMDB be reduced to 24.47% and 10 seats, the PSDB was reduced to 19.8% and 8 seats, the PTB rose to 23.18% and 9 seats, the PT dropped to 16.63% and 7 seats, and the Progressistas rose to 15.91% and 6 seats. The ensuing presidential election saw PTB leader Raquel Santos and PMDB leader Joao Iacovo tie with 50% of the vote each, leading to Doreira continuing as President. The Chamber voted 34-1 to approve an income tax, and Doreira's party contributed to the 19-16 defeat of a gun prohibition law. A PTB-sponsored bill to legalize prostitution was defeated by the PT and PMDB in a 17-12 vote, but the PTB placed first in a poll measuring party support in the country in the months leading up to the elections; the PTB placed first with 27.5%, the PMDB second with 21.7%, the PSDB third with 17.7%, the PT fourth with 17.1%, and the Progressistas fifth with 16%. Over the next few weeks, Doreira was attacked by the PTB through the media, although they worked together to create a government-provided scholarship in a vote of 24-6. The ensuing election saw the PMDB drop to 21.37% and 9 seats, the PTB rose to 30.05% and 12 seats, the PSDB dropped to 16.91% and 7 seats, the PT dropped to 16.3% and 6 seats, and the Progressistas dropped to 15.37% and 6 seats. Raquel Santos then defeated Iacovo in the ensuing election 52.3% to 47.7%. In 2006, Doreira switched his affiliation to the Brazilian Labor Party. In 2009, President Brenda Moreira died in office just five weeks before the 2009 general elections, and Doreira served as acting President in the weeks leading up to the next election. In the general election, the PTB dropped to 40.48% and 16 seats, PT dropped to 17.93% and 7 seats, the PSDB dropped to 16.73% and 7 seats, the PMDB rose to 14.01% and 6 seats, and the PP rose to 10.85% and 4 seats. In the ensuing presidential election, Doreira was re-elected in a vote of 55.9% to 44.1%, defeating PT leader Mariana Santanha. Return to Power Eduardo Doreira returned to the presidency, this time as the PTB leader. The Chamber approved public housing in an 11-6 vote, but, this time, it could be accomodated by a booming economy. The government lost much of its budget when it had to deal with the effects of a tsunami, but the economy quickly recovered. The Chamber then voted 17-15 to outlaw gambling in a move opposed only by the PTB and half of the PMDB. The Chamber voted 21-16 to approve press freedom, with the authoritarian PTB supporting it only to gain popular support. The PTB then tacitly supported the abolition of press freedom by abstaining from the 18-3 vote to abolish press freedom, which benefited the government's grip on power. In the ensuing general election, the PTB rose to 42.74% and 17 seats, while the PT dropped to 17.37% and 7 seats, the PSDB dropped to 16.52% and 7 seats, the PMDB dropped to 10.94% and 4 seats, and the PP rose to 12.43% and 5 seats. Doreira then won re-election with 61.1% of the vote to Santanha's 38.9%, continuing the PTB's reign. The new Chamber voted 25-6 to approve a custom duty, and, weeks later, the Progressistas began five weeks of protests against the government. The government responded with attack ads against the PP, and, in a vote of 26-8, the government scored another victory by passing a travel visa program through the Chamber. The government then voted 25-12 to approve an election threshold, hoping to disenfranchise unpopular parties. In January 2011, the Chamber voted 20-16 to approve a coffee tax, and a poll two weeks later showed the PTB having the support of 41.2% of the population. The Chamber voted 22-13 to approve an airport tax and 29-7 for a tobacco tax, but failed 17-17 to legalize gambling. The government then voted 24-12 to approve arts subsidies and 24-13 to approve an agricultural subsidy to win the support of the people. However, the mid-2011 election was a reversal for the PTB, which dropped to 32.82% and 13 seats, while the PT won 8 seats and 18.91%, the PSDB won 19.43% and 8 seats, the PP won 15.84% and 6 seats, and the PMDB won 12.99% and 5 seats. The ensuing presidential election saw Doreira win re-election with 56.6% of the vote and PSDB leader Rafael Tovar lose with 43.4%; two weeks later, Tovar was found dead, having been shot dead at his home in Campinas. In early 2012, the Chamber voted 20-16 to abolish the income tax, grounding the economy to a halt, and the Chamber also voted 17-16 to approve a driving license program. A PTB-sponsored alcohol tax was defeated 18-16, and a gambling legalization law was also defeated 18-14. The PTB abstained from a vote on the agricultural subsidy, which was abolished in a 14-12 vote, balancing the budget. However, the Chamber also voted to abolish the car tax, leading to continued economic downturn. In the late 2012 election, the PTB shrunk to 24.27% of the vote and 10 seats, while the PSDB increased to 22.6% and 9 seats, the PT increased to 21.6% and 9 seats, the PP increased to 18.92% and 7 seats, and the PMDB shrunk to 12.6% and 5 seats. Doreira won another term with 51.5% of the vote to PSDB leader Diego Sobral's 48.5%, although the results were by now much closer. Doreira failed 22-14 to pass an income tax, and the Chamber voted 21-13 to approve a postal service, worsening the economy. By the start of the 2013 fundraising season, the PTB had declined so much that it raised just R$3,000 more than the PT and just R$12,000 more than the PSDB, which were gaining ground. An attempt to legalize gambling was defeated 15-14, an alcohol tax was defeated 18-16, a car tax was defeated 28-11, and a port tax was defeated 17-13, but taxi licenses were approved 24-5 and an income tax was approved 22-12. A poll released shortly afterward showed that the PT had 23% support, followed by the PTB and PSDB tied at 22.8%, the PP at 18.3%, and the PMDB at 13.1%, so Doreira focused his party's attention on the rival leftist parties. An economic boom saved the country's budget, and national parks were brought back. Two weeks before the election, Doreira stood down as party leader to let Raquel Agusto handle the final blows to the rival parties, hoping to allow for the party to have a fresh face at the new elections. However, the next election saw the PTB place fourth, humiliating the party. The PT emerged as the largest party with 24.9% and 10 seats, followed by the PSDB with 23.45% and 9 seats, the PP with 19.25% and 8 seats, the PTB with 19.15% and 8 seats, and the PMDB with 13.26% and 5 seats. In a last humiliation, the Chamber voted 21-9 to abolish the land tax, with only the reduced PTB and a few other dissenters opposing abolition. The ensuing presidential election saw Sobral defeat Santanha with 52.9% of the vote to Santanha's 47.1%. Category:1954 births Category:Brazilian politicians Category:Brazilians Category:Politicians Category:Catholics Category:PSDB members Category:Brazilian Labor Party members Category:Brazilian social democrats Category:Social democrats Category:Brazilian presidents Category:Presidents